Skiers fill Gondola Square at the Steamboat Ski Area, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. Holiday storms have improved the snowpack in Colorado’s mountains but state climatologist Nolan Doesken said the snowfall so far isn’t good enough to pull the state out of its drought. (AP Photo/Steamboat Pilot & Today, Matt Stensland)

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Holiday snow buoyed resort communities desperate for a bounce from last season's snowless plummet.Hope for a momentum-building rebound was dwindling in mid-December. Early reservations were down, thanks to the exceptionally dry November and the awkward Tuesday holidays of Christmas and New Year's. But then a series of storms smothered the High Country over the holidays and most resorts saw business surge, especially in the week after Christmas."We had anticipated a slow start to the holiday season due to the day that Christmas fell this year. Reservations were showing a lot of business being pushed into the first week of January, as opposed to before the holiday," said Crested Butte Mountain Resort's Erica Reiter.Crested Butte ski area saw Christmas week visitation slightly ahead of last year, but this week the resort expects to be up 50 percent, thanks in part to the new snow."Still a firm believer that the weather trumps all in the ski industry," Reiter said.Sales tax revenue, resort visitation and lodging occupancy won't be available for a few weeks, but anecdotal observations reveal that the High Country got its bounce in the last week of 2012.To read this article in its entirety, go to http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_22300847/timely-snow-boosted-visitation-at-colorado-ski-areas?IADID=Search-www.denverpost.com-www.denverpost.com